


who'd've thought (it'd be us all over again)?

by youngerdrgrey



Category: Queen Sugar (TV)
Genre: Gen, Pre-show, kids!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-21
Updated: 2018-06-21
Packaged: 2019-05-26 15:30:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15003884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/youngerdrgrey/pseuds/youngerdrgrey
Summary: summers used to be different when they were younger.// the thing about being seven years older than the baby of the family is that Charley always wound up babysitting. Nova could sneak off, claim that she had a job now since she was fifteen. All the grown folk had jobs too, so that left Charley. and it was either babysit Ralph Angel, or follow Aunt Vi to church and the High Yellow.





	who'd've thought (it'd be us all over again)?

**Author's Note:**

> reminder: Nova was nine when Rah was born, basically ten years older than her baby brother, while Charley was seven.
> 
> inspired by Charley and Rah getting along for once and the fact that they were def on the same side as kids for a bit

the thing about being seven years older than the baby of the family is that Charley always wound up babysitting. Nova could sneak off, claim that she had a job now since she was fifteen. All the grown folk had jobs too, so that left Charley. and it was either babysit Ralph Angel, or follow Aunt Vi to church and the High Yellow.

most days, all Rah wanted to do was be on the farm like Daddy. He tugged down a hat too big for his five-year-old head and slipped into his worn in boots. 

“Come on, Charley,” he said, like he was the one in charge.

She followed, instinctively reaching to tuck her hair behind her ears. She caught air, though, since this summer she’d convinced Aunt Vi that she wanted braids like Nova’s. Cornrows that frizzed up, no matter how she tried to take care of them.

(”It’s ‘cause your hair’s a little thinner than Nova’s, baby. It’s fine. Wear your scarf to bed, and we can re-do ‘em whenever you want.”)

Charley grabbed her own hat and plopped it over the braids. “You put your sunscreen on?”

Rah nodded, but Charley grabbed the bottle anyway.

He said, “I don’t burn like you do.”

She rolled her eyes. “Everybody burns, Rah. Yours just have to be deeper before we see it. Arms out.”

He huffed, but he rolled up the sleeves on his plaid shirt anyway. It was the exact same blue as the one Daddy had on that day. She sprayed the sunscreen along his arms, then waited while he covered his eyes with his hands to spray his face too. Once the stream ended, he dropped his hands and stared up at her, eyes about as endless as their land.

“Can we go now  _please_?”

“Hmmm.” She capped the sunscreen and moseyed closer to the door. “I don’t know. Maybe we oughta stay in today. We were out  _all_  yesterday.” She leaned back against the door. “Get a start on that reading you need to do for next year.” He groaned loud as he could. “Or–” she paused, and Rah froze, “we… could… RACE!”

She threw open the door with her free hand, but before Charley could turn, Ralph Angel sprinted straight through it. She ran right after him, laughing, and he called back, “You raced me last week! I was ready!”

“Oh, were you now?” 

Charley could outrun a five-year-old. She wasn’t taking P.E. every day for nothing. She pumped her arms at her side as she sped up enough to catch up to him. He shrieked once she got next to him. Swatted an arm her way, which only served to knock him off balance. 

He stumbled a step, would’ve been fine if not for the uneven ground the closer they got to the family cane. His boot toe stuck in the line of the dirt, and the rest of him kept going, hurtling down to the ground.

He cried out before he even hit the ground. “OUCH!” The whole right side of his body scraped along the dirt, smooshing the cane and scratching up the open parts of his arm.

“Crap.” Charley skidded to a stop and rushed back over to him. “Rah, you okay?”

He pushed himself up onto his elbows. His whole face scrunched in on itself the way it did before he normally started crying. “Stupid cane tripped me.” He scratched at the dirt on his arms. “I was winning.”

Charley hunkered down into a squat. “You can still win.” She brushed a little dirt off his shoulder.

He huffed. “It’s not fair anyway. You’re bigger than me.”

“For now,” she ducked her head to make sure he met her eye, “but soon, you’ll be tall as Daddy.”

His eyes shone back up, tears welling, even as he tensed his jaw up to stop them. “I wanna be tall now. Then I could come out here all by myself. Work the farm too.”

She shifted so she could sit down, grass stains to her pants be damned.

She said, “People fought really hard so you wouldn’t have to work the farm until you wanted to.”

His voice squeaked. “I want to now!”

If she didn’t stop him soon, it’d be a full blown tantrum. “Hey, now you get to do this just for fun, you know? Not because you have to. And you can work as long as you want, or as little as you want. Isn’t that better than having to be out here all day like Daddy?”

He shrugged.

She reached over to re-roll his sleeves. “Besides, you have a job already, Rah.” She waited, re-rolled the other while his curiosity got the best of him.

“What’s that?”

Charley pulled on her best Aunt Vi impression. “’Be a kid.’ Daddy’s out here, taking care of the land, working for all of us. He needs us to be there when he gets back. He needs us to help wash the dishes, and do the little stuff, so he can do the big ones. Then one day, when we’re older, we’ll switch.”

Ralph Angel laughed. “Yeah, right.”

“I’m serious. We get to take care of him one day. Make him make the bed,” Charley nudged Ralph Angel. 

“And take out the trash,” he offered.

She nodded. “Then you’ll be the one running all this.” The land seemed to ruffle in response as the wind picked up.

“We,” Rah corrected.

Charley smiled over at him. “Okay, we’ll run it.”

.

.

.

 


End file.
